Raised like a dog and forced to fight in death-matches all his life, Danny (Li) gets a new leash on life when he befriends a blind piano teacher (Morgan Freeman) and his young friend (Kerry Condon). He is forced to choose between his newly found humanity and the life he escaped when re-captured by his former master Bart (Bob Hoskins).

UNLEASHED boasts an original soundtrack by Massive Attack and action sequences-choreographed by the legendary Yuen Woo-Ping (THE FIST OF LEGEND, THE MATRIX)-that should satisfy Jet Li fans who have been disappointed by Hollywood productions that have failed to take advantage of his tremendous physical abilities. But those scenes are also woven into a dramatic narrative that showcases some surprisingly nuanced acting from the action star. UNLEASHED may well be Jet Li's most accomplished performance to date.

The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, runs March 10-17, 2005 at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theatres, 1881 Post Street, and the Castro Theatre, 429 Castro Street in San Francisco; and the Pacific Film Archive, 2575 Bancroft Way in Berkeley and March 18-20 at the Camera 12 Cinemas, 201 South Second Street in San Jose.